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Hobbe
Hobbes are small pests which resemble short and stout goblins. They have appeared in every Fable ''game to date. History Hobbes have been described in the Creatures of Albion Book III as the "under-race of the dells and hollows." As such, they are said to have their genetics entwined with the mud and slime of the deep country. According to legend, the very first hobbes were lost children who had their souls stolen by dark Nymphs. They can still transform lost children into more hobbes, but the sheer number of hobbes indicates that they have another method of reproduction, given that there isn't a pandemic of lost and kidnapped children throughout Albion. Although often considered dim-witted throughout the long history of Albion, Hobbes appear to have cognitive abilities, evidenced by a degree of ingenuity and social structure. They are also in possession of a surprisingly advanced culture, exhibiting traits of salvaging, locksmithing, construction, adoption, and even religion. As befitting their title, hobbes make their home in a variety of intricate cave systems, oftentimes leaving to ambush Humans. While hobbes have limited social capabilities they almost never appear alone. On at least two occasions, hobbes have accepted a human into their society and vice versa. They come up to a human's waist, are bald and have light grey, red, or black skin. Fable Hobbes can mainly be found in Greatwood and Darkwood areas and Hobbe Cave. The hobbes have skilled axe wielders and mages with a shadow ball attack. Most hobbes are weak but they make up for it by attacking in large numbers. The hobbes are one of the enemies fought in the The Arena. To open the Demon Door in Darkwood requires you to fight ever increasing waves of hobbes. A hobbe called Maxley once made it to Bowerstone, and fooled the town with clothes he stole from a rich trader. He was killed after he spoke his first word to the townsfolk. Hobbes are weak against flame, sharpening, and lightning augmentations. In the original ''Fable (as well as Fable: The Lost Chapters) there are four basic classes of hobbes (100 hps/120 hps, 300 hps, 600 hps, and 900 hps): *'Standard Hobbe: '''These basic hobbes, just barely adorned and sporting no armour to speak of, consist of warriors and mages using axes. *'Warrior Hobbes: These stronger hobbes charge into battle wearing basic clothes and a helmet, utilizing a combination of axes and hammers. *'Brute Hobbes: '''Similar in appearance to the infamous warrior hobbes of ''Fable II ''and ''Fable III, brute hobbes in the original Fable ''are still very strong, displaying a consistency of inflicting a large amount of damage with their weapons. They are distinguished by their red skin, muscular frame, helmet, and overalls. *'Commander Hobbes: 'The toughest form of hobbe, these hobbes look identical to the brutes save for their black skin. They also have a tendency to inflict greater damage and boast superior health. Fable II In ''Fable II, hobbes come in more varieties than in Fable. Their skin is mostly grey. Several hobbes use Will, but the commentators in the Crucible remark that they use natural magic, the magical power that is created from the Earth; rather than Will, which is a magical energy created from the soul. This could be an error, since Will is akin to magic, though it could be that hobbe mages can only control the magical Will energy around them by using their staves. The Hobbe Cave is located in Rookridge in Fable II. In the Crucible, the Hero must fight some hobbes in two of the rounds (three counting the troll match). Folklore of the time claims that hobbes were once children who wandered into caves and were turned into hobbes by dark magic. Hobbes in the Hobbe Cave appear to hide in barrels, and sometimes have remains of the barrels hanging off them. Hobbes are actually cowardly, and shall run amok slamming into walls and jumping off cliffs, especially when you kill the stilt hobbes or mage hobbes. Sometimes after slamming into walls, they may die, without the player even having to lift their sword! In Fable II, there are nine classes of hobbes. The first classes of hobbes are the weakest, the rest of them are around the same in terms of strength. *'''Standard Hobbe: These hobbes have no special abilities, wear simple clothes resembling pyjamas and use weak melee weapons as well as, rarely, guns. Standard hobbes are the weakest of the hobbe race and give plenty of warning before launching an attack on you. These hobbes become rare as you progress further throughout the game and are mostly found on your first exploration of Hobbe Cave where they often hide in barrels. *'Warrior Hobbes:' These large hobbes have red skin, and are heavily armoured. Warrior hobbes are capable of dodging and weaving away from combo attacks, and retaliating with a powerful combo of their own if you are careless. These hobbes serve to be the backbone of hobbe forces once you recruit Garth to your side. *'Camo Hobbes:' They dress in green camouflaged clothes and wield both melee and ranged weapons, mainly hobbe-sized Blunderbuss's or Maces. Camo hobbes are basically equivalent to warrior hobbes. These hobbes are found in Brightwood, Bower Lake, Bowerstone Cemetery, and Westcliff. They are the only class of hobbe that does not ever appear in Hobbe Cave. They attack out of bushes, shrubs and trees in a desperate attempt to hurt you but fail many times. *'Mage/Wizard Hobbes:' These hobbes use odd staves when fighting and wear spiffy suits. They can use the Raise Dead, Force Push, and Inferno (targeted attack only) spells, though the smaller kind are much weaker (the more powerful wizards wear top hats). They also have an ability that provides a buff to all nearby fighters, which seems to heal them and give them an attack/defence bonus. Killing a mage/wizard hobbe can make other hobbes scared, like some other ranks. *'Hollow Hobbes:' Summoned by mage hobbes, these creatures are the hobbe version of hollow men. They have reasonably low health and can usually be destroyed with one hit, although the ones summoned by the wizards with top hats are slightly more powerful. *'Kamikaze Hobbes:' Resembling warrior hobbes with explosives strapped onto their backs, these hobbes are relatively common and attack by lighting the explosives on their backs and charging. Hitting these kamikaze hobbes kills them and disarms the bomb, but the Inferno spell, guns, and landscape explosives will detonate it immediately. *'Rifle Hobbes:' These hobbes are slightly weaker than warrior hobbes, but always carry small flintlock rifles or blunderbuss's. They are the same size as standard hobbes, but have evolved armour and a watering pot for a helmet. Rifle hobbes are also play a role of a commander hobbe pre-spire. *'Stilt Hobbes:' Stilt hobbes don't usually do much. They walk around slowly on wooden legs and occasionally fire miniature Blunderbuss's at you. Their only dangerous move is a stomp that they use when their enemy is in close quarters. They are, however, immune to low-level area spells, so Will-users beware. Like commander hobbes (see below), if you kill the stilt hobbe, other hobbes scatter. Stilt hobbes are basically rifle and commander hobbes on mechanical stilts. Note that the Vortex spell is VERY effective on stilt hobbes, as they suck the hobbe in and break apart the stilts. *'Commander Hobbes:' Commander hobbes are the toughest of all, most of their armour is identical to warrior hobbes except they have a metal stool/stove on their head for a helmet. They have the most vitality out of the hobbes and are great fighters, dodging your melee blows and counter-attacking. Once you dispatch the commander hobbe, all other hobbes in the area will break ranks and flee. Commander hobbes are very rare until you finish the Hero of Will Quest. *'Hobbe Child Catcher': an unused character who can be depicted from Fable II artwork. Used to catch children, likely for prey or to transform into hobbes. It is not known what purpose he would have had in game and if there were more of them. The child catcher didn't make it into the game for unknown reasons. Fable III Hobbes in Fable III are more advanced, and use guns more often to support melee warriors. Note that when firing, hobbes are thrown backward, occasionally even rolling. Stilt Hobbes were evidently scrapped probably because they were too vulnerable. Hobbes now inhabit The Hole, or the Mistpeak/Millfields Monorail station. The most common hobbes are depicted below: *'Standard Hobbe: '''These hobbes are the weakest class of hobbes and often use rusty or iron maces, hammers, and axes. Basic hobbes occasionally wield iron blunderbuss's to backup melee squads. They are most often found earlier in the game, and wear nothing but a pair of pants. But are later replaced by warriors once enough followers are gained. *'Warrior Hobbes:' Warrior hobbes are one of the toughest hobbes encountered so far. They are bigger than basic and mage/wizard hobbes and are infamous for evading attacks and are now capable of blocking blows. Warrior hobbes are distinguished by the traditional red skin and wear military uniforms, and are armed with Steel Axes and blunderbusses to back up melee allies. Some of these hobbes sport Major Swift-style moustaches. *'Summoner Hobbes:' These spell-casters have not changed much from ''Fable II; they wield a staff and are capable of casting energy orbs that fire much more quickly than in Fable II, but have a smaller shock-wave. Mage and wizard hobbes can summon either three "hollow hobbes" that are equivalent to basic hobbes or two that are equivalent to warrior hobbes, even though at higher levels they summon three. They are no longer capable of healing or giving offence boosts to their comrades. *'Hollow Hobbes:' When first encountered in Fable III in The Hole, these enemies are easy to kill, and carry puny maces. But as the hero progresses in the Road to Rule, these hobbes evolve into more larger, axe-toting and armored versions of themselves. If you encounter a summoner at range, it is likely that he will summon hollow hobbes. In groups of 3 or 4, they will charge and surround the hero. The weaker variants can be killed quickly by using a sword. However, the armored types are much more aggressive, so try blocking their assaults, and then using flourishes against them. *'Commander Hobbes: '''These hobbes, called Elite Hobbes in the quest The Game, look identical to warriors, but are stronger and use Master Axes. Commanders are particularly dangerous, where they have a special twirl lash attack when you are landing at least 2 hits on them in a short amount of time, so use a flourish to deal with commanders. *'Ambusher Hobbes:' Ambushers are most commonly found in story sequences portraying hobbes, such as The Mistpeak Monorail. Finding Ambushers is impossible during normal exploration. They are much like warrior hobbes that use guns and axes. Ambushers will hide inside certain objects, and, as their name says, ambush you when you are nearby. *'Forest Hobbes:' Forest Hobbes are fairly rare, and they can be found on Mourningwood, Driftwood (Only on the Pest Control quest) and the Sunset House. Their only difference from normal hobbes is that they have a 3-pronged candle or bits of shrubs and bushes on their heads, and some wear junk and a small vacuum on their back. Much like camo hobbes from ''Fable II, they leap out at the player when nearby. *'Hobbe Child Catchers:' In the Fable III artbook is a small piece of concept art once again depicting a Hobbe Child Catcher. However, this character again did not make it into the final release. Fable: The Journey Hobbes are revealed to infest the Edgelands of Albion in Fable: The Journey. Because the Edgelands are a frontier land with little in the way of permanent settlements, the Hobbes are unable to get their hands on the more advanced industrial technology of Fable III, ''such as guns. Therefore, the Hobbes encountered in ''Fable: The Journey seem more primitive, relying on old maces and crossbows. Hobbes are a constant problem in the Edgelands, which is made quickly evident in Fable: The Journey. Their constant ambushes, roadside forts, and mines all present a problem both to the local inhabitants and to Gabriel as he progresses on his journey. In addition to fighting through Hobbe forts and doing battle with Hobbe soldiers, Gabriel also encounters mounted Hobbes, riding some kind of bull. Trivia *During the Hobbe Cave quest, if you rescue the Bandit in a side room and manage to get him to the focus stone in the cave itself, you are able to replace the child with him. If you do so, later on if you return there (not including the time you chase Jack) there will be a large barrel in the exact same place as the sacrifice was at. The barrel is unbreakable. *In some hobbe caves there are shrines with teddy bears on them meaning that hobbes either worship them or perhaps retain some of their childhood inclinations. *In the first Fable, the basic hobbes appear to wear bandages. *Their name may be a reference to "Hob" or "Hobgoblin". *Their name may be a reference to the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who is known for his quote "The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". ''Those last three adjectives are a fitting description of the creatures. *Expanding further on the previous point, in Thomas Hobbes' most renowned work, Leviathan, he proposes a "state of nature" wherein without the rule of law, humanity depredates upon each other. This is superficially comparable to William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, where children stranded upon an island regress to violent tribalism. *At the end of ''Fable, the credits boast a member whose last name is Hobbes. *In Fable II, when a hobbe is killed by a high level of shock, a sort of squished together human skeleton is revealed, showing that hobbes have a similar bone structure to humans. *In Fable II during a loading screen tells "There is a saying that hobbes were once children led astray into dark places by whispering voices." *In Fable II when inside Chesty's world and you encounter hobbes, they are at least a head taller than you. This reinforces the idea that they are children possibly older than you were at that time. *Concept art reveals an unused character for Fable II: "The Hobbe Child Catcher". This does not explains the "whispering voices". Instead, as revealed in the original Fable, Nymphs were the "whispering voices". *In Fable II, standard hobbes appear to be wearing pyjamas. *It's not clear why, but the spirits summoned by the Raise Dead spell, when there are no fresh corpses nearby, take on the forms of hobbes. *Hobbes, along with weak bandits, are one shot kills 95% of the time if you are using The Enforcer. *Known expressions that hobbes use are 'Point and Laugh', 'Bloodlust Roar', and 'Slap'. (Even Worship when under the Chaos spell.) *One variant of a hobbe is shown with a silver key around it's neck, although this key cannot be collected *Some fleeing hobbes will just hide, but others, especially near a drop, will commit suicide. Unfortunately, you do not get any experience for suicidal hobbes. *In Fable III, inside a cell in Nigel Ferret's Hideout, there is a hobbe worshipping a box, a possible reference to the game Portal because the box has hearts on each side, like the companion cube. And near the cell you can see a cake. *Contrary to most beliefs, hobbes have great intellectual capacities. Their ability to mass manufacture unique staves that deposit a will spell into a sphere, and puts it into a on impact detonation, releasing a low level will spell into the targeted area. The raise dead spell Is the exception, as the hobbe must channel a raise dead spell, but the sphere remains until the summoning is complete. They are, however, extremely cowardly, thus their sense of cowardice often goes before logic, resulting in the stereotype of the dumb hobbe. *They, when not in combat, can be seen in special events in a highly advanced culture, including what appears to be religion, salvaging operations, construction, hunting, adoption, and locksmithing. Examples include the gladiatorial arena that the hobbes trap the Hero of Brightwall in during Fable III, the lock on the Hobbe Cave door in Fable II, the adoption of Tommy in Hobbe Squatters, the worship of what appears to be a teddy bear in Hobnobbing With Hobbes including a tribal dance, apparent priests/shamans, and a temple are excellent examples of hobbe religion. They have made hundreds of constructions with salvaged goods, thrown away by the people of Albion, and put to use in massive building projects. This leads to the belief that either they can't, or don't want to collect raw resources and refine them into manufactured products, and rather using scrap from Ablion's wasteful citizens. * In Fable III, warrior hobbes wear redcoats from soldiers. * Hobbes are now slightly less likely to flee in terror and smack into walls in Fable III. * In Fable III, if you look carefully at a wizard's belt-line, you can see a teddy bear's head for a buckle. * Hob is a generic term for various Dwarf-like and Elf-like magical creatures in Germanic folklore. * "Old Hob" is an old name for the devil. * Since some hobbes are larger and more powerful than others, and some almost as tall as an adult, it could mean that some hobbes are actually teenagers, such as warrior, mage and commander hobbes. * In game and in some concept art, hobbes can be seen wearing their pants backwards. In a quest in Fable III, Walter also mentions "smart enough to use magic, but not smart enough to wear their pants the right way around." * In Fable III the hobbe killed by Walter´s "magic" can be killed by the player by having the safety lock off and using spells, mostly area spells. * In Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters if the Player was to stab a hobbe when it's dead it's mouth and stomach will move making it look like the hobbe was still breathing but when the Hero removes his sword from the dead hobbe it will stop breathing. *In Fable III, searching bookcases in the Reliquary will sometimes yield the following description: "This bookcase contains a complete set of 'Cooking for Hobbes'. The pictures are not pleasant." *In Fable Heroes during the Millfields level, wolf riding hobbes are encountered called "Hobbe Jockeys". Also a screenshot from Fable: The Journey shows hobbes riding cattle Gallery Hobbe Mage.jpg|A hobbe mage in Fable. Hobbe Brute.jpg|A black brute hobbe in Fable. Concept8.jpg|Concept art of a Hobbe in Fable: The Lost Chapters. Hobbe Child Catcher.png|Concept of a hobbe child catcher. HobbeFable2.jpg|A hobbe in Fable II. Category:Fable Enemies Category:Fable II Enemies Category:Fable III Enemies Category:Fable: The Journey Enemies